New research by Cullen International shows which among the 19 European countries surveyed have proposed or adopted specific taxes on digital services (DSTs).
As of May 2025, Austria, France, Italy, Spain and the UK have introduced their own national DSTs, following a similar approach to the failed EU DST.
Belgium and Poland are currently discussing the introduction of national DSTs.
In 2018 the European Commission proposed a digital services tax (DST) of 3% of the revenues generated from certain digital services in each EU member state. However, member states failed to agree on the EU DST.
At international level, instead, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) global agreement on the reform of the international tax system of October 2021 foresaw the removal of existing DSTs. The multilateral convention implementing the global agreement was expected to be finalised by June 2024. However, negotiations are still ongoing.
For more information and access to the full benchmark, please click on “Access the full content” - or on “Request Access”, in case you are not subscribed to our European Digital Economy service.
more news
03 April 26
Spectrum policy and new consumer protection rules in the LATAM telecoms market
Cullen International’s latest LATAM Telecoms Update highlights policy developments over the past three months affecting the regulation of radio spectrum, wholesale networks and consumer protection in six markets in the region: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
30 March 26
Transposition status of key EU environmental directives
Our latest benchmark contains summary information on the transposition status of six key EU environmental directives.
26 March 26
What are New Competition Tools and who wields them?
Our new benchmark surveys which European countries have introduced so-called new competition tools (NCTs), also known as market investigation powers. NCTs enable competition authorities to intervene in markets without establishing an infringement of antitrust rules.